Thursday, December 6, 2007

The Way of Jesus: "Center of Controversy"


Tonight we looked at Jesus' conflict with the Pharisees over fasting and the Sabbath. Fasting was unnecessary because Jesus was the groom with whom his disciples are to celebrate. And the celebration is the something new that Jesus was bringing that was incompatible with the old ways of Judaism at the time. Jesus was bringing "new wine," knowing many would prefer the old wine of their custom or tradition.

Just as Jesus wanted them to experience new wine, it is our calling to be used of God to create a thirst in the lives of those around us who currently prefer their tradition (whether it be of the world or even a church tradition) to Jesus' new wine. So the questions are...

"What are you going to do this week to create a thirst for "new wine" in the lives of others around you?

What can we do as a group to create this thirst?

I go to one or two coffee shops pretty regularly, but I always buy a card and re-load it. That means I never tip (Horrible, I know). This week I'm going to put a big tip in - $20 or so - to make up for lost time and be a blessing to the workers at the main coffee shop I go to. What about you?

1 comment:

Lee Jones said...

I've been spending time cultivating relationships, one with a believer who could use more fellowship and another with an non-believer who still needs to know God. We've begun including our non-believer friend in holidays and he came to the Christmas program, for which we are glad.

Oh, and I'm not fighting issues that would push people away from Jesus. People need to see Jesus' love in us, so kindness and reasonable dialog are my focus.